Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon

Chapter 24: Escape

"My fallen friends entrusted this duty to me... And now it's my turn to hand it on."

No. Why did Walter have to do this? This was all too much.

Raven's eyes began to feel heavy. A mixture from the remnants of the stunning needle's shock was still hurting him and the new pressure added in.. He could barely see anything anymore, but he could still hear his handler's voice.

"621. Feed the fire. Let the last cinders burn. I have one last job for you: Find your freedom." Walter finished.

The young man then opened his eyes, awakening in some kind of... junkyard area? Underground?

"...Raven." said Ayre, "Now I finally understand what Walter was thinking."

The camera then turned to some kind of heavily worn AC. It was all rusted and beaten down, as if its prime had been long past for ages.

"This AC... He must have fourseen this outcome and prepared for it." Ayre continued, "...It's time for us to escape."

Suddenly, the moment Raven got up, he spotted two men walking by the entrance. He then immediately hid within the shadows. He spotted them flashing their flashlights over the AC.

"What the...?" said one, "Who made this piece of junk?"

Before the second could answer, Raven dropped by and then gripped him by the arm and threw him against the first man.

"Wh-Who the hell is this?!" the second screamed.

One aimed at his forehead, however, Raven threw a piece of rubble at him, messing up his aim. The mercenary then skid against the floor, sliding as he threw his fist at his kneecap, snapping it all the way backwards.

The man couldn't scream before his mouth was covered the very moment he felt a sharp piece of junk stab through his neck. The second security guard stared at the site in a mixture of shock and horror.

"You..." he growled, "Y-you mother fu-!"

Before he could answer, Raven got behind him and wrapped his arms around his neck and shoved him down. He then placed his foot on the back of his head and snapped it. The mercenary stared coldly before rudely stepping over it and climbing into the AC's cockpit.

[Main System: Activating Combat Mode]

Raven quickly analyzed the AC. It was an old-gen. It was made from junk parts, and its performance leaves much to be desired.

It was AC-J-120/RC, codename "JAILBREAK." Not a bad name if Raven were to say so himself. The old man surely was such a planner. AP's poor, low stability, even made the RaD crappy scout AC look so much better, but better than nothing and Raven was going to respect his former handler for that. It was wielding an MG-014 LUDLOW Machine gun, an MA-T-223 KYORIKU Jamming Bomb Launcher, and... an SB-033M MORLEY Stun Needle launcher? That's a shocker.

"I've found some coordinates in the AC's systems." said Ayre, sounding surprised, "He's... showing us the way out."

The Arquebus MT Squad Members were at first complaining about the fact that they were put on sewer duty and shouting where the AC or "pile of junk" came from . Once Raven took them down, Ayre wanted him to avoid combat as much as possible.

"I'm afraid this AC is... no match for your abilities." was the best way she could put it.

<<Thanks.>>

They headed further into a tunnel. There, they saw a huge mech with four legs. Ayre suggested finding another way through, but Raven wasn't a patient kind, so he fired the stun needle, critically damaging the mech and destroying the MT next to it.